What Can You Say About This Scaup?

I'm confused by the plumage of a Greater Scaup I observed and photographed earlier this week on the Jordan River in Sandy, Utah. My first impression was that I was observing a female Greater Scaup when I saw the brown head with a contrasting white patch at the base of the bill and forehead. We don't often see Greaters in my part of Utah so I often try to sift through the Lessers to find the Greaters--I'm not referring to the people of Utah :)   It's much like sorting through hoards of Canada Geese hoping to find a Cackling or Greater White-fronted Goose.

I'd love to get some feedback (leave a comment below) on the sex of this bird because it exhibits plumage characteristics of both male and female. The head looks very female, but the body is quite different from female yet not really male either. I searched my field guides and checked for images on the web and was left scratching my head. I found one comment on the web about older female's taking on male plumage. Some of my local birding experts suggested older female, brighter female, and juvenile male transitioning to adult breeding plumage. 

I've included male Lesser Scaups in most of the images below for comparison. The last two images include the Greater AND a Lesser Scaup with similarly confusing plumage. That particular Lesser's head is notably darker so I wonder if we have juvenile males transitioning to their first adult breeding plumage. None of my field guides show much about 1st winter/spring males. Did I mention I was confused? The bird on the right in the last image has quite messy plumage in case you want to comment on that one.  I'm not sure if he's trying to change into our out of his breeding outfit.

I look forward to reading your comments below if you have experience with this plumage

Flapping, Scratching, and Stretching on Sandy Pond

There is a small community pond located near my place of work. It is one of many community/urban fisheries managed by the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) in Utah. This particular pond is called Sandy Urban Fishery, but many local birders refer to it as Sandy Pond. I sometimes visit the pond during my lunch hour to see what birds are on or around the water. Because water in this pond is circulated it generally remains open despite freezing temperatures during winter months. Consequently, it draws birds year round. The DWR stocks many of the community ponds with fish on a regular basis so it is not unusual to see Herons, Pelicans, Cormorants, Gulls, Ducks, Osprey, and more, depending on the season, on or around the ponds.

During a couple of visits in recent days I've noticed a great deal of flapping, scratching, and stretching on and around the pond. The Redhead below appears to be attempting to balance himself and walk on water.

Flapping Redhead on Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

That didn't quite work so he decided to scratch his head over the failed attempt. Or could he be tapping on his head to adjust his equilibrium?

Scratching Redhead on Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

A shrug of the shoulders seems to bring a little relief to the tension he must be feeling now that he realizes he's being photographed for a crazy birder's blog post.

Shrugging Redhead on Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

We have a Great Blue Heron, sporting a funky hairdo, that can almost always be found at the pond. It will either be standing on the small island in the middle of the pond, perched on a fence, or down by the Jordan River across the street from the pond.

Stretching Great Blue Heron Adult (white crown) at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Scratching Great Blue Heron at Sandy Pond in Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

A lone California Gull was flying circles around the pond and made a few passes around my position on the bank and the small floating dock from which I photographed the scratching Heron.

Flapping California Gull at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Below is a flapping female Redhead. It flew by quickly on a rather cloudy day so the lighting was a challenge in terms of capturing motion, but I thought it would make a good comparison to the female Lesser Scaup that did a fly-by today while the sun was doing a better job of lighting the subjects.

Female Redhead Flying Over Sandy Pond in Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Lesser Scaup at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)
Very similar to female Greater Scaup (uncommon in Utah) and female Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks. Female Scaups do not have the eye ring seen on female Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks. Flight feathers are more white than Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks, which appear more grayish.

Female Lesser Scaup at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)
Very similar to female Greater Scaup (uncommon in Utah) and female Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks. Female Scaups do not have the eye ring seen on female Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks. Flight feathers are more white than Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks, which appear more grayish.

I love the raptors so I have to include a scratching and stretching Merlin that was recently at the pond to do a little hunting.

Scratching Merlin at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Stretching Merlin at Sandy Pond Sandy, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)